Wheel and method of casting same or other metal objects.



$10,725,999. PATENTBD APR. 21', 1903.

, I J. SLATTERY. WHEEL AND METHOD OF CASTING SAME OR OTHER METALOBJEQTS.

- APPLIOATION FILED-SEPT. 16, 1902.

10 MODEL.

' ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES} PATENT OFFICE.

JOI-IN SLATTERY',,OF BROOKLYN, N ORI SSI O T o ROME STEEL wORKs, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., AOORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

WHEELAND f METHOD' 0F CASTING SAME OR OTHER METAL OBJECTS.

sPEoIFIoATIoN forming part f Letters Patent No. 725,999, dated. April 21, 1903. Application filed September 176, 1902- $erial No. 123,583. I (No model.)

T0 LLZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN SLATTERY, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the the art to which it pertains to make and use the same.

My invention relatesto cast wheels, and especially to cast-steel ear-wheels.

My invention consists in a wheel comprising two concentric portions, one of which is usually a rim and the other a body, said por-l tions having interlocking projections fitting into corresponding recesses by-which the parts of the. wheel are mechanically interlocked and held together;

Car-wheels carry heavy loads, are subject-; ed to severe shocks- -as,' foreX-ample, when a heavily loaded car passes rapidly over switches and crossings-andare also sub-j jected to wear through the action 'of brake shoes upon them. Heretofore the wheels; most commonly used have been chilled cast iron wheels; but it has been found'that castiron has not the strength desirable'for the metal of wheels for modern heavy tonnage Moreover,,chilled cast-iron, although hard, is not tough and wears away more rapidly than is desirable under the action of the cars.

brake-shoes, and, furthermore,- such wheels often contain soft places which wear away rapidly, producing fiat wheels. Cast-steel possesses the strength and toughness desir-; able in the material from which to nake car-i wheels; but it is necessary that the tread portion of the Wheel shall be formed ofa hard; grade of steel which will resist-wear and thej showing the separator therein.

and before it is bent. View of 'a portion of the separator after-it has been bent into a circle. 'spective view of the separator.

By the method of casting wheels herein described a wheel is produced having a rim or tread portion composed of a'steel of any desired hardness and a body portion and hub composedof steel of any desired softness, the two portions of the wheel being so interlocked inechauicallythat it is impossible for 'them to be separated.

The objects of my invention are to improve the construction of cast wheels, and particui larlyof car-wheels, to produce a cast wheel having a" relatively hard outer or tread surface and a body portion formed of softer materiaL'a'nd' tointerlockthe parts of the wheel firmly and prevent accidental separation thereof.

The accompanying d rawin gs illustrate how =car-wheels'embodyin'g my invention may be made;

, 7 In the'drawings, Figure 1 shows a crosssect'ion of a car-wheel mold and of a car-wheel tioned separator being also indicated. Fig. 2 shows 'a h'orizontal section through the line was ofFig. 1 of the upper portion of the mold, Fig. 3 shows a top view of this separator as first formed 8o Fig. 4 shows a similar Fig.5 shows a per- In'the said"drawings-the-mold shown con- 8 sists of an upper portion or cope l and a lower portion or drag 2, the mold being arranged to part at the flange-line of the wheel, as is ordinarily the case. The pattern by 'which the mold is formed may be of any de- 0 sired form,:'acco1' ding to thefo'rm to be given to the wheel. The rim portion ofthe mold is divided'into two separate chambers by a separator-ring 3,and separategates are provided for conducting the molten metal into the outer chamber 4 and into the inner chamber 5 and the web and hub-space 6, said gates being numbered 7 and 8, respectively. The separator-ring 3 is formed of thin metal, preferably of sheet-iron, and is bedded in the bot- 10o tom section of the mold, so as to be supported thereby. The separator-ring is corrugated,

as shown, having faces 9 and 10, having substantially the form of arcs of two circles concentric with the mold, connected by angular reentrant portions 11. IVhen the molten metal is poured into the mold on both sides of the separator, the adjacent faces of the cast metal assume the form of interlocking fan-shaped serrations, the two parts of the wheel being, in fact, dovetailed together. The separator-ring is also provided with circumferential bosses 12 and corresponding recesses 13, which are filled by the molten metal, and thereby the two parts of the wheel are interlocked against separation by lateral movement. In forming this separator-ring it is preferably rolled or pressed into the shape shown in Fig. 3, the corrugations being rectangular. form and the ends riveted or otherwise fastened together, and as it is so bent the portions 11 connecting the faces 9 and 10 necessarily assume the reentrant position shown.

In casting the Wheel after the mold has been formed and the separator inserted molten metal of the character from which the hub portion of the wheel is to be formed is poured into the mold through the gate 8, and at the same time or shortly thereafter molten metal of the character from which the rim portion of the wheel is to be formed is poured into the mold through the gate 7. The molten metal as it fills the mold conforms to the shape of the separator; but the latter keeps the two grades of molten metal apart and prevents them from running together. Because of the shape of the corrugations in the separator interlocking serrations are formed on the adjacent sides of the rim and body por-. tion of the wheel, which unite the two firmly. The interlocking of the rim and body, which results from the filling of the recesses 13, likewise prevents the rim from separating from the body portion by a sidewise movement. In practice a more or less perfect weld will usually be formed between the rim and body portions of the wheel and the separator, the latter being raised to the welding-point or even fused by the heat of the molten metal; but it is difficult to insure a perfect weld, and since the slightest imperfection in the weld between the rim and body would render the wheel dangerous were not the parts locked together mechanically it is far better to rely upon the mechanical interlocking of the parts, which because of the shape of theinterlocking serrations and the contraction of the metal in cooling is as firm and secure as could be in- It is then bent into circular surcd by the most perfect weld. After the wheel is formed as above described it is removed from the mold and allowed to cool, and subsequently it may be reheated and pressed between suitable (lies to condense the metal and bring the wheel to perfect form and size. It is especially desirable to condense the metal of the rim to the greatest practicable extent, as thereby the rim is made very tough and capable of enduring much service with little wear.

It is obvious that my invention is not limited to the making of car-wheels, but that wheels of various classes may be made in the manner above described, and the process is not confined to the casting together of different grades of steel, but may be employed in casting articles from other metals and from two or more different metals.

In another application for Letters Patent filed concurrently herewith I have claimed the separator employed as above described.

Having thus completely described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isi 1. As an article of manufacture, a wheel comprising two concentric portions each of which has radiating interlocking projections fitting into corresponding recesses of the other, said projections being broader at the face than at the base, and serving to connect the parts of the wheel.

2. As an article of manufacture, a wheel having a rim portion, an inner or hub portion, each of which portions has radiating interlocking projections fitting into the corresponding recesses of the other portion, said projections being broader at the face than at the base, and serving to connect the hub and rim portions of the wheel.

3. As an article of manufacture, a wheel having a rim portion, and an inner or hub portion, each of which portions has interlocking projections fitting into corresponding recesses of the other portion, said projections being broader at the face than at the base, and serving to connect the hub or rim portions of the wheel, one of the said portions of the wheel having also circumferential projections fitting into corresponding recesses which interlock the portions of the wheel against lateral separation.

JOHN SLAT' ERY.

Witnesses:

G. F. CARRINGTON, II. M. MARBLE. 

